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Abstract. Pervious concrete has a high rate of permeability, low strength and high porosity. It
is commonly used in the area of storm water management. However, its use has been limited to
pavements with low volume traffic. Pervious concrete is different from normal concrete as the
mixture contains no fine aggregates. The aggregate is usually of a single size bonded by a
cement paste. This study focuses mainly on the effect of Engineered Biomass Aggregate (EBA)
on the compressive strength and permeability of previous concrete. Three types of mixtures
with 0% natural aggregate (NA), 5% BA and 5% of EBA have been studied in this research. A
total of 27 150 mm cubes were casted in the laboratory for compressive strength and
permeability test. This research aims to enhance the understanding of engineered biomass
aggregate pervious concrete as well as the use of pervious concrete for sustainable construction
activities due to the environmental benefits it offers.
1 Introduction
Concrete is considered as the major cause of natural material deployment. However there are many
by-products such as waste material which become problematic to the environment. Biomass is
conceded as by-product of industrial effluents and is continuously being dumped into landfills.
However, research showed that biomass has the potential to be recycled and may be used to replace
natural aggregates (NA) in concrete [1-3].
Comparing the properties of normal aggregate with biomass aggregate (BA), it is found that BA
shows lower strength. The pervious concrete containing BA allows water to pass through it and is
normally used in soft soil due to its lightweight properties [4]. Pervious concrete is also known as “no-
fines concrete” and consists of Portland cement, coarse aggregate, water, admixtures, and little or no
sand [5-8]. It has high porosity used for concrete flatwork applications that allows water from
precipitation and other sources to pass through it, thereby reducing the runoff from a site and
recharging ground water levels.
Besides that, Polyethylene or plastic bags also affect the environment due to wide availability and
the fact that they are not biodegradable. Plastic bags can be recycled and used to produce Engineered
Biomass Aggregate (EBA) [7]. However, engineering technical data on EBA is not well established
due to the lack of research on this material. Therefore, this research aims to study the strength
a
Corresponding author : shahiron@uthm.edu.my
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development and water permeability of pervious concrete containing BA and EBA as alternative
materials for sustainable development.
3 Laboratory Work
At the initial stage, all the materials and equipment have to be prepared and checked for availability in
order to determine the performance of concrete with BA and EBA. All the testing and laboratory work
were carried out according to British Standards.
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The materials were stored properly in the laboratory room so that the stability of surface moisture
content of the aggregate is maintained. This is because pervious concrete has low and high water
content aggregate content. All the materials were mixed together in the mixture machine with the
proportion design as shown in Table 1. After completing the mixture process, the pervious concrete
was poured into the cube mould and left for a day. On the following day, the pervious concrete was
placed into the curing tank for the curing process to take place.
3.2 Testing
Two types of tests were conducted. A compressive strength test, as shown in Figure 3(a), was carried
out to determine the short-term strength development (7, 14 and 28 days) of pervious concrete
containing BA and EBA. Meanwhile, permeability test was conducted on the 150 mm pervious
concrete cubes at 28 days. Permeability is an important parameter of previous concrete since the
material is designed to function as a drainage layer in pavement structures. Darcy's law for laminar
flow is no longer applicable for previous concrete. In this study, a permeability measurement device
and method developed for drainable asphalt mixture similar to pervious concrete in function were
used as seen in Figure 3(b).
(a) (b)
Figure 3. Testing method: (a) Compressive strength test, and (b) Permeability test.
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respectively. Pervious concrete containing 5% EBA achieved the lowest compressive strength. This
may be due to the smooth surface of EBA which reduces interlocking between the aggregates.
Besides, the mechanical strength of biomass aggregates is generally lower than that of natural
aggregates. Overall, the trend of strength development for pervious concrete and pervious concrete
containing BA and EBA is similar to normal concrete.
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Compressive Strength (MPa)
7 Days 14 Days
16 0% BA
14 0% BA
%5 BA
0% BA
12
5% BA
5% BA 5% EBA
10 5% EBA
5% EBA
8
6 8 10 12 14 16
Water Permeability (mm/sec)
Figure 6 illustrated that the NA specimen achieved approximately 6.83 mm/sec for water
pemeability with a compressive strength of 15.69 MPa. However the strength of concrete decreased
slightly by adding 5% of BA and 5% of EBA. From the graph it can be concluded that, the water
permeability may be increased by adding 5% of EBA compared to 0% of NA and 5% of BA but the
compressive strength is decreased after the addition of BA and EBA.
5 Conclusions
From the above findings, it can be concluded that Biomass Aggregate (BA) and Engineered Biomass
Aggregate (EBA) are suitable to be used as the partial replacement for natural aggregate in pervious
concrete to increase water permeability. Further research should be carried out to improve the strength
of BA and EBA concrete in order to maximize the use of sustainable materials for civil engineering
applications.
References
[1] Y.L. Lee, A.K. Ahmad Tarmizi, A.R. Ismail, H.B. Koh, S. Hani, S. Nagapan, R. Fetra Venny and
C.T. Jung, Alternative aggregates for sustainable construction, International J. of Zero Waste
Generation, 1(1), 5-10, (2013).
[2] Y.L. Lee, K.O. Khoo, S.S.F. Chong and M.W. Hussin, Strength development and water
permeability of high strength TIA concrete, Proceedings of International Congress on Creating
with Concrete, University of Dundee, 175-181, (1999).
[3] Y.L. Lee, K.S. Goh, K.O. Khoo and I. Bakar, Foamed aggregate pervious concrete – an option for
road on peat, Proceedings of MUCET, (2009).
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aggregate for sustainable geopolymer concrete, International Journal of Civil Engineering and
Technology, 5(3), 340-356, (2014).
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Environmental Engineering Science Journal. November 23(6), 960-969, (2006).
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[6] ASTM C39, Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens,
ASTM International, (2009).
[7] BS EN 12390-3, Testing Hardened Concrete, Compressive Strength of Test Specimens, BSI
Standards Publication, (2009).
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[9] L.M. Haselbach, S. Valavala and F. Montes, Permeability predictions for sand-clogged Portland
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